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Proposed pet facility advances to St. Charles committee

Fydoland owner Robin Massey (left), and property owner Barbara Petkus listen to Plan Commission members speak Tuesday during a public hearing for a proposed Fydoland location in St. Charles.

ST. CHARLES – A pet care facility proposed for the city’s east side is one step closer to approval after some lengthy public hearings and a meeting Tuesday.

The city’s Plan Commission voted 8-0 after the hearings in favor of recommending a general amendment to the zoning ordinance to permit pet care facilities in the BL-Local Business District. Fydoland business owner Robin Massey has applied to open a pet facility on the former Rex’s Cork and Fork property, 1317 E. Main St., St. Charles.

The proposed Fydoland would focus on dogs and include pet daycare services, pet grooming areas and exercise areas inside and outside of the facility, according to Massey’s written proposal. She has Fydoland locations in Elgin and Huntley.

“We wanted to have a place that was safe, sanitary and convenient,” Massey said Tuesday of her business.

The commission voted 7-1 in favor of recommending a special-use permit for the pet facility. Plan Commission member Tom Pretz voted against the recommendation but did not give any reason for his decision, Plan Commission Chairman Todd Wallace said. Pretz on Tuesday afternoon did not respond to a message seeking comment sent through the city.

The general amendment recommendation passed with an added condition, said Matt O’Rourke, the city’s economic development division manager and immediate past city planner. The condition calls for city staff to add a screening requirement for areas of the property that abut a retail or commercial property, a public right of way or a residentially zoned property.

The two public hearings and commission meeting Tuesday lasted about 21/2 hours in all, Wallace said. Plan commission members and residents had questions about the outdoor exercise areas proposed for the facility. Massey said she is considering modifying the outside areas. A maximum of 20 dogs would be outside at any one time, she said.

The amendment and special-use permit for the facility next will go before the city’s Planning and Development Committee on April 14, O’Rourke said. Property owner Barbara Petkus plans to discuss the facility with the tenants of her property, at 1408 E. Main St., sometime before the April meeting.

“I don’t understand how I’m going to attract tenants,” Petkus said during one of the Tuesday public hearings. “How do I convince people who are living there to stay?”

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